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Letter: We ban infant beds but not assault weapons

(Rich Pedroncelli | AP file photo) A custom made semi-automatic hunting rifle with a detachable magazine, displayed at TDS Guns in Rocklin, Calif., on Oct. 3, 2013.

I found the national news’ juxtaposition earlier this week of the consumer warning regarding a defective infant bed and the president’s unwillingness to consider an assault weapon ban unsettling and hypocritical.

Our government regularly issues warnings and recalls when products cause death or serious injury. Why can’t we expect a similar response when firearms, weapons of mass destruction, are used to kill dozens of people?

We need better background checks to identify those who should not own a firearm and “red flag” laws that remove guns from those who are mentally unfit for gun ownership. And we need laws that regulate military-style assault weapons.

How much safer our country would be if Congress and the president took the loss of lives due to assault weapons and rifles with high-capacity magazines as seriously as the federal government takes the deaths associated with a defective infant bed. All preventable deaths are tragic, no matter the cause.

If the president and his supporters want to make our country great again, I suggest that they start by making our country safe again. We must end this senseless violence.

Jim Bale, Salt Lake City

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